Gone
by fallenfromlighttodark
Summary: The war is over. Konoha is almost rebuilt. Everyone seems happy. And then, one stormy night there's a knock at the door. "There's been an accident." Four words that would change the lives of the Konoha 12 forever. Four words that would leave them asking themselves why, and when they get an answer it will be more than they expected. Rated T for language/possible themes. Please read!
1. Chapter 1

Ino walked in the middle of a dark road alone. Sadness filled her eyes, deep pain stabbed at her heart. She reached her destination, the sixteen-story apartment building she'd been living in since her home had been destroyed in the war. With a sigh she walked in and took the elevator up to the ninth floor, room number 244.

She had left her phone off for the past few days. Reluctantly she turned it on.

**6 Missed Calls**

**25 New Messages**

Three of the calls had been from Sakura, two from Choji, and one from Naruto. Shikamaru had texted her ten times, Mizuki four, Hinata six, Lee twice, and Sakura three. She didn't read any of the texts or listen to any of the voicemails. Instead she put her phone back on her bedside table.

Ino changed into a white nightdress and walked into her tiny bathroom. Her reflection stared back at her, screaming at her. _Failure. Worthless. Ugly. In the way._

Pain and anger battled inside of her, driving her crazy. She grabbed a brush and threw it at the mirror with all the force she could muster. For a split second her reflection was cracked and broken up. Then the mirror shattered.

Ino backed up until she hit the wall, her hands covering her mouth. _Run. Run. Run_. Her mind told her. She ran out the front door and into the hallway. She spotted the stairs and took them to the roof.

A strong gust of wind slammed into Ino as she shut the door behind her, blowing her skirt around her legs and her long blonde hair in all directions. Slowly she made her way to the edge of the roof. There was a crack of thunder, and then a downpour of rain began. Ino looked out and could see Konoha, almost completely rebuilt from the war. Ever since it had ended almost two years ago, things had changed so much...

A sob escaped Ino before her tears began. They started out softly but quickly turned into sobs with enough force to cause her to shake. _Failure. Worthless. In the way._

Ino stepped onto the ledge of the building and looked up at the stormy sky. Her sobs had calmed some, although the tears still fell. Her nightdress stuck to her body but her hair was still being blown around.

"I'm sorry." she whispered before she held her arms straight out

Stepped forward

And fell.


	2. Chapter 2

Mizuki was awakened by loud banging on her door. She squinted at her clock and groaned. _Who in the hell is knocking on my door at two am?_ She was suddenly hit with a feeling of dread. Jumping out of bed, not caring that whoever was behind that door would see the normally well-dressed kunoichi in sweatpants and a tank top, she ran to the front door.

"Yes?" she asked, opening it. Standing in front of her was a tall man in an ANBU mask. The pit in her stomach deepened.

"Miss Yukito, I have some bad news." the man said, his voice devoid of any real emotion.

"What happened?" Mizuki asked, keeping her face calm though inside she was panicking.

"There's been an accident."

Shizune stood in the Hokage's office, anxiously awaiting Lady Tsunade's return. The rain had yet to stop since the news had reached them. The door to the Hokage's office opened and a busty blonde stepped inside.

"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked, her voice full of sadness.

Tsunade sat down at her desk and sighed deeply. "Begin preparations for her funeral. It will be tomorrow."

Shizune nodded, holding back her tears. _Ino..._

It was noon and the rain had finally stopped. Choji sat in his apartment, looking at a picture of his old team. Shikamaru was standing next to him with a bored look in his eyes, and Asuma-sensei stood over them smiling. Choji's eyes found Ino. She had the biggest smile on her face, her eyes full of joy. _What happened, Ino?_ Tears fell and Choji didn't try to stop him; no one was around to see him cry. _Why didn't you come to me? I could've helped you. But now...Ino, why?_

He picked up his phone and scrolled through every picture of them that he had. _Why, Ino?_

Naruto lay on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. He kept thinking about Ino. At first, when the ANBU black ops member had told him that she had jumped off her roof, he hadn't believed him. He hadn't believed it until he had gone to the hospital to see for himself.

_"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Granny Tsunade had asked._

_"The ANBU man, he told me...he told me..."_

_Tsunade's eyes revealed the sadness the rest of her face hid. "Ino...yes, I had members of the black ops tell each of you of the Konoha Twelve."_

_Naruto shook his head. "She can't be dead. I won't believe it until I see her."_

_Tsunade sighed. "I'm not sure that's the best thing but...you're not going to leave until you see her are you?" Naruto shook his head. "Fine then. Follow me."_

_She led him to the morgue. "Brace yourself. It isn't easy seeing a comrade...a friend...who has passed."_

_She looked peaceful, almost like she was sleeping. Her blonde hair was down. Naruto gently touched her face; she was cold as ice. That's when it hit him, that she was really gone..._

Naruto was broken out of his memory by knocking on his door. He got up. As soon as his hand touched the doorknob, he was afraid to open it, afraid of who was on the other side. _Come on, Naruto,_ he told himself, _open the door._

He pulled the door open. No one was there. He poked his head into the hallway and saw a girl with pink hair starting to leave. "Sakura?" he asked.

She turned. Her green eyes were rimmed in red. _Has she been crying?_ Naruto wondered. _Of course she has, you dolt,_ Kurama answered him. _Ino was her friend, wasn't she? And she just leaped off a building as if she could fly last night._

_Kurama, shut up._ Naruto growled.

_You humans and your emotions..._Kurama said with a sigh.

"Naruto, I...I didn't know if you were home but I...I..."

Naruto took two steps to his friend and pulled her to him in a tight embrace. "I'm here."

Sakura held onto him tightly. "Can we go somewhere? Like...the park?"

Naruto nodded. "Sure thing."

As they began to walk, Naruto's mind went back to seeing Ino in the morgue. _Ino...why would you do this?_

**Normally I won't update so often but since I'm not sure when the next time I'll be able to update is...here's the second chapter. Please review, but no flames please. Also I love getting suggestions so if you have any feel free to let me know (so long as it's constructive criticism or an idea, no hate please). Subscribe too, and thanks for reading**


	3. Chapter 3

Hinata sat on a swing in the park, thinking. The ANBU member had told her and Neji about Ino at the same time. All Hinata wanted to do was scream. She had hoped that, once the war had ended, she wouldn't have to lose someone she cared about again for a while. But no. What made it even worse was that Ino had chosen to end her life, and Hinata couldn't understand why.

"Hey, Hinata." Hinata looked up. Standing in front of her was her good friend Mizuki. Mizuki's hazel eyes showed no signs of the tears Hinata knew she must've shed.

"Hey."

Mizuki sat next to her. They sat on the swings silently for a minute before Mizuki spoke. "Alright, I'll be the first to say what we're all wondering but are too scared to actually say aloud: why in the hell did she do it?"

Hinata smiled a bit, not at the question but at the fact that Mizuki was speaking it aloud. Though she knew the level-headed kunoichi that had been her friend since their academy days was hurting over the death of her friend, she also had expected that Mizuki would be the first to try and face the facts.

"I don't know. She seemed okay after the war, happy even that it was over. But now..." Hinata said, trailing off. In the back of her mind she couldn't help but marvel at how ever since they were kids her stutter had pretty much disappeared when she spoke with Mizuki.

"Now we're all left wondering what was really going on and how well we actually knew her." Mizuki finished for Hinata. "I mean, she was one of my good friends, I thought I knew her pretty well. So how is it that I didn't see that something was wrong?"

Hinata was silent, sensing that Mizuki didn't actually want an answer but just needed to vent. At that exact moment, Naruto and Sakura came into view. They didn't see Hinata and Mizuki, but the girls definitely saw them. They sat down on a bench and Sakura fell into Naruto's arms. He cradled her, gently stroking her hair.

Mizuki didn't need to see the look on Hinata's face to know what it was. "What an ass." she said. "He won't say anything to you about you telling him how you feel, how you've always felt, but he's all flirty with Sakura all the time when she's never given him the time of day."

"Mizu, he's just being a good friend to her...I mean, Ino was her best friend..." Hinata said.

"I know. I'm just frustrated and really tired of everything right now." Mizuki said with a sigh.

Hinata didn't say anything else, but secretly part of her agreed with Mizuki. _I should maybe talk to him about it,_ she thought. _But it seems so unimportant after everything...I guess I'll just sit by quietly like I always do._

The next day arrived far too quickly for Shikamaru, who had passed the day before in a numb haze. He vaguely remembered the ANBU agent telling him that Ino had..._No._ he told himself. _It can't be true_. But of course, somewhere deep inside, he knew that it was. And that was exactly why he couldn't let himself accept her death; knowing that it was a suicide made more awful than it already was.

Shikamaru had just finished putting on his black clothes for the funeral when there was a knock at his door. He opened it and was slightly surprised to see a young woman with short, messy, dark red hair that swept over the left of her green eyes and a tattoo of a shuriken on her left upper arm. She was wearing the standard clothing issued to kunoichi for funerals instead of her usual black knee-length pants and brown cutoff halter top, but the standard black shoes for shinobi and bright red lipstick were the same.

"Kira? What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked.

"Mizuki asked me to walk with you, at least until she could meet up with us." the opinionated kunoichi said, her usual smile or smirk replaced by a carefully controlled calm expression.

Though Shikamaru didn't necessarily like Kira, he was too numb to argue with her. Instead he nodded and began to walk with her. He didn't notice Mizuki until she was right in front of him. Her waist-length, jet black hair fell into her face, but Shikamaru could still see the concern and sadness in her eyes.

"Mizu..." Shikamaru said. They had been friends since their academy days. Normally he called her Mizu and she called him Shika.

She didn't say anything, just hugged him. Shikamaru was slightly caught off guard, but he still manage to return her embrace. She was shaking slightly. Just as he was about to try to reassure her, she caught him off guard again. "It'll be okay, Shika." she whispered so only he could hear.

He held her a little tighter before they both let go. Kira didn't say anything; being Mizuki's good friend, she knew about their strong friendship.

They walked the rest of the way in silence until Shikamaru's throat went dry. They had reached their destination. Ino's funeral.

**So. Another quick update. Also, I realize that when I'm typing it I have things to separate the character P.O.V. changes, but on the website they aren't there. I'm sorry! That drives me crazy so I'll be trying to put something in between the P.O.V. changes, maybe just more spaces. Please review and subscribe!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey readers! Sorry that it's taken me so long to update! My computers died :l So here's the redone chapter. Please review and let me know what you think (constructive criticism is preferred to being a jerk please and thank you) **

**Note: I do not own Naruto**

**Kira's P.O.V.**

Thunder rumbled overhead as the funeral began. Within moments, rain began to fall down on everyone. Kira stood with Mizuki on her right and a man who looked to be in his mid-to late twenties on her left. The sadness and concern Kira had seen in Mizuki's eyes when she had first joined her and Shikamaru was gone now, replaced by the emotionless mask a shinobi must always wear.

"We are gathered here today in remembrance of a skilled kunoichi and talented healer, Ino Yamanaka..." Lady Tsunade began.

Kira glanced over to where Ino's parents stood. Her mother was sobbing, trying in vain to stifle her cries. Her father was crying softly. Normally seeing a shinobi like him cry would've been disgraceful, but it was his daughter's funeral. Kira would've been surprised if he _hadn't_ been crying. He pulled his wife to his side and began stroking her hair while she buried her face in his chest. He stared straight ahead, eyes glazed over; Kira wondered how much he was actually hearing.

"What has the shinobi world come to, holding a funeral for someone so dishonorable?" the man next to Kira muttered. Mizuki had heard him and tensed, jaw locked, fist clenched, eyes straight ahead.

"What?" Kira said softly enough that only he and Mizuki would hear.

"A shinobi that commits suicide is a disgrace. Holding a funeral for such _scum_-" he said, his voice full of disgust.

Kira cut him off, her voice still low but threatening. "The girl you'd call _scum_ was one of the most honored kunoichi in the village. She not only helped save us all, she was a good friend to Naruto Uzamaki as well as my friend here. So unless you want to learn firsthand what happens when you speak ill of anyone close to my friend, I suggest you shut your trap and keep it that way."

The man, apparently for the first time, noticed Mizuki and paled. Kira was sure that whether he knew of her or not, he definitely had heard rumours at the very least of Mizuki's ability. He said nothing more through the service.

Eventually it was time for each individual's white rose to be placed on the coffin. Ino's family went first, her mother's sobs cutting through the quiet. Her father led her away quietly, trying to calm her. Rows of shinobi paid their respects until, finally, it was Mizuki's turn. Kira watched her gently place her rose. As she did she moved her lips quickly, so fast it was almost undetectable. Even if anyone else had seen, though, they wouldn't have known what she was mouthing, for it was in the native language of her homeland. _Goodbye_.

Kira placed her rose next. She looked at the picture of Ino that her family had chosen. She had been smiling, her long blonde hair pulled back like she had usually worn it. _She was so beautiful_, she though as she tried to think of one last thing to say. Finally she settled on something in the same language Mizuki had used. _May God keep you_, she mouthed. A prayer for her soul.

Kira and Mizuki walked together away from the funeral procession. They'd paid their respects to her family before the service. "I think I'm going to go home." Mizuki said. They walked a little ways before they heard Kiba calling out after them and stopped.

"Hey Kiba." Mizuki said once he caught up to them.-

"Hey. I just wanted to tell you that, um, if you ever need someone to talk to or anything I'm just a phone call away." he said.

A faint smile found its way onto Mizuki's lips. "Thank you, Kiba. I appreciate that."

Kiba smiled, too. Kira thought she saw a blush spread across Mizuki's face as she looked away.

"Right. Um, I have to go. I haven't paid my respects yet." Kiba said.

"Right. See you." Mizuki said as she turned to go.

The two girls continued walking until they reached Mizuki's apartment. Mizuki said goodbye and went inside, and Kira continued on her way.

**Naruto's P.O.V.**

Naruto was walking home from the funeral when he began to think about Hinata's confessing her feelings to him. She was so brave, he thought. And when she told me she loves me, that she always has...I really need to talk to her. Suddenly, almost as if fate had a hand in it, he saw her walking alone ahead of him. "Hey, Hinata!" he called. "Wait up!"

She turned and waited for him to catch up. "H-Hi Naruto-kun."

"Hey. Can I talk to you?"

"Sure, what about?"

Suddenly Naruto was very nervous, looking into her pale eyes. She was beautiful, really; he wondered why it had taken her almost dying trying to save him for him to realize how he felt about her.

"When you told me you love me."

Hinata's face fell briefly, but she recomposed herself so quickly Naruto thought he had imagined it. "Oh, d-don't worry about that, it's okay. I-I know how you feel about Sakura."

"But-"

"I-I have to go. Bye." she said, turning and disappearing into the crowd.

"Wait, Hinata!" But she was gone, leaving Naruto wondering what the hell had just happened.


	5. Chapter 5

Hinata sat in her room, refusing to let herself cry over what had happened with Naruto. She expected he was probably just going to tell her that he loved Sakura and would rather remain just friends with her, which she was going to have to be okay with.

Hinata glanced at her bedside table, at the picture of her and Mizuki from right before the war started. She couldn't help but smile. _Mizuki..._ she thought, flashing back to the day they had met...

_"Class, we have a new student. She just transferred here from the land of sea*." Iruka-sensei said, quieting the class._

A new student? _Hinata wondered. M-Maybe we could be friends..._

_A girl walked into the classroom and Hinata's hopes for them being friends immediately went out the window. She was pretty. Her skin was almost the same color as Hinata's, her hair was jet black and shiny and fell to her shoulders, and her hazel eyes seemed to pierce into Hinata's soul when they made eye contact. She was the kind of girl that would be friends with someone like Ino, not someone like her..._

_"This is Mizuki Yukito." Iruka-sensei said. Immediately the class erupted into whispers. Hinata was shocked. From what she'd heard her father, the Yukito clan was from the land of water and were famous for their incredible genjutsu ability. She also remembered hearing that the entire clan had been mysteriously wiped out a few weeks ago._

She's all alone... _Hinata thought._

_"I expect you all to treat her the way you treat your other classmates. Go ahead and take your seat, Mizuki." Iruka-sensei directed her to a seat in the very back of the room, right next to Sasuke Uchiha._

S-Sasuke's family just died recently too...Iruka-sensei must've th-thought about that before putting her n-next to him. _Hinata thought._

_Eventually it was time for lunch. Hinata, as usual, sat under a tree alone. If it was raining she would've sat in the bathroom, but it was sunny today. Just as she began to eat the new girl walked up to her._

_"Hi." she said. "I'm Mizuki Yukito."_

_"I-I'm Hinata Hyuga."_

_Mizuki smiled. "Can I sit with you?"_

_Hinata could only nod, she was so shocked. No one had ever asked to sit with her before. Mizuki sat down across from her and began to eat._

_"Wh-What's the land of sea like?" Hinata blurted out before she could stop herself. Immediately she covered her mouth, afraid she had said the wrong thing._

_Mizuki, instead of being saddened or offended like Hinata had expected, grinned. "It's a beautiful island off the coast of the land of water. Our shinobi village located near the eastern coast..."_

_Mizuki went on to describe as best she could what her village and her island looked like as Hinata listened intently. After about five minutes Mizuki sighed. "I can't really describe it well enough. But I do have pictures, lots of pictures, at my apartment. Why don't you come over and I can show them to you?"_

_Hinata was thrilled; no one had ever asked for her to come over before. "I'd love to! Can we stop by my house first so I can ask my parents?"_

_"Sure!"_

_The rest of the day flew by for Hinata. She didn't think anything of having Mizuki see her house until they were almost there. It was a mansion, after all, and the biggest in Konoha. But when they got there all Mizuki said was, "Your house is so pretty!"_

_"Hinata, are you home?" Hinata's mom called out._

_"Hi, Mother." Hinata greeted her as she walked in._

_Hinata's mom was surprised to see Mizuki. "Who's this?"_

_"This is Mizuki Yukito. She just moved here from the land of sea."_

_"Hello." Mizuki said, bowing._

_"Mizuki wanted to know if I could come over to her house." Hinata asked._

_Her mother nodded, not attempting to hide her shock that Hinata had so quickly made friends with the only surviving member of the Yukito clan. "Sure, honey. Be back by dinner."_

_"Yes, Mother."_

_The two girls went to Mizuki's apartment, a one bedroom place with a tiny kitchen and small living area. The furniture consisted of a small couch and a coffee table, and the decoration was minimal. That is, until you reached Mizuki's bedroom._

_A bed was pushed up against the far wall, under the only window in the room. There was a small bedside table next to that, and then a desk with a chair pushed under it. Across from that was a full-length mirror and a small closet. The walls were covered in beautiful paintings of different sceneries; a sunset over a village, the ocean, a valley, mountains...they were all skillfully done._

_"My mother painted those." Mizuki said, noticing where Hinata's attention was. "They were all from places she'd traveled to. Actually, I think the village is Konoha from several years ago."_

_"Really?" Hinata asked._

_"Mhm. Mother was friends with the Fourth Hokage's wife, Lady Kushina, so she came here a lot to visit." Mizuki pulled out a box of photographs and showed Hinata, who gasped._

_The land of sea was even more beautiful than Mizuki had described. The sand on the beaches was white and the ocean was so clear you could see straight to the bottom. The shinobi village there resembled Konoha, except there wasn't a mountain with the faces of the past kages on it. Some of Mizuki's family was in the pictures, and Mizuki pointed them all out to Hinata. Her mother, a beautiful woman who Mizuki resembled greatly except for the eyes, her father, a tall, handsome man whose eyes Mizuki had, her older sister that looked more like her father, and her younger brother who was only two._

Mizuki never once let her sadness show in her voice, but in her eyes that day Hinata had seen it. It was buried deep down under what appeared to be genuine happiness, but it was there nonetheless. The two girls remained friends throughout their academy days, and even afterwards when Hinata was assigned Kurenai-sensei's team and Mizuki placed on Hana-sensei's team. Hana was a lovely blonde woman with short hair and ash grey eyes. Shortly before the chunin exams, Mizuki had been on a B-rank mission in the land of lightning. Her two teammates and close friends, Kohime and Daisuke, had been killed in action. Immediately upon returning home, Mizuki had been made chunin because of her exceptional work defeating the enemy and completing the mission even though her comrades had fallen. Through their death and funerals, Mizuki had worn the mask of a shinobi she had carefully created over the years. Only Hinata and Ino had been the ones to see Mizuki's tears for them.

Just then Hinata's cell phone buzzed with a text from none other than Mizuki.

**Can I come over? Like, right now?**

Hinata quickly sent a reply.

**Sure.**

About thirty seconds after she hit send, her window flew open and in popped Mizuki. She was back in her normal clothes: black, form fitting skinny pants, black heeled shoes like Hinata wore, and a dark blue cutoff top with short sleeves that revealed her stomach. As usual, a sapphire blue teardrop hung off a thin silver chain around her neck. Her black hair fell over one shoulder, and the stormy yet determined look in her eyes let Hinata know she had decided something important recently.

"Were you just standing outside my window waiting for me to say yes?" Hinata asked as Mizuki shut the window and leaned against it.

"One way or another I was coming in." Mizuki said.

Hinata shook her head at her friend. "What's up?"

"She committed suicide. There won't be an investigation as to why, and I need to know." Mizuki said.

"What are you saying, Mizu?" Hinata asked, slightly worried about where her friend was going with this.

Mizuki looked Hinata dead in the eye. "I'm going to find out why she did it, Hina. And I want you to help me."

**Well, there ya have it, chapter 5. I tried to make it a little longer (not sure if I really succeeded) and focus on a bit of Mizuki's backstory (thanks to a few good reviews I got I realized readers might like knowing who Mizuki and Kira are-don't worry Kira's backstory is coming up later). Just a few quick notes:**

***the land of sea is, as far as I know, a fictional land of my creation. If it isn't, I'm very sorry, but every time I thought I had a good name for this island nation I would watch a movie or the show and be like well crap, there goes my idea for the name :)**

***Hana will not be featured in this story much except for in flashbacks or maybe in a quick conversation with Mizuki. She is a character of my creation, as well as Kohime and Daisuke (also only used in flashbacks detailing Mizuki's past when necessary)**

***I am trying to add some lighter, happier parts to this story, I don't want it to be all about death and depression and sadness. The story is mainly about Ino's death and her friends' reactions to it, but I also want to add some focus on the relationships I'd like to do.**

**Also, I'd like to note that I have redone chapter four. Sorry that that was all so long I just didn't want any confusion. Thanks for reading and please review :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Shikamaru P.O.V.**

Shikamaru sat in his room alone. The blinds were closed, shutting off all light from the outside world. His head was in his hands. _Ino..._ he kept thinking. Just her name, with an image of her face in his head. _Why? Why would you do this?_

Suddenly he got an idea. He jumped up and ran over to his desk, where his phone lay. He grabbed it and sent a text to Mizuki.

**We have to find out why**, the text said. Shikamaru knew she'd know what he was talking about.

Within moments he got a reply. **Meet me at my apartment in twenty minutes**.

Twenty minutes later Shikamaru was sitting on Mizuki's couch next to Hinata. The three of them were silent, waiting for someone to break the silence.

Hinata spoke. "We aren't going to be the only ones who want to know what happened." she said.

"You're right." Mizuki said softly.

Both girls looked to Shikamaru for confirmation as to what to do next.

"Send a text to the rest of the Konoha Twelve." he said.

Mizuki grabbed her phone. Shikamaru didn't know what she said but within another twenty minutes everyone was gathered in her living room. Neji sat with Lee, Shikamaru, and Hinata on the couch, Shino stood in a corner next to the plushy armchair that held both Sakura and Tenten, Kiba stood a few feet away from Mizuki, who was leaning against the wall. Choji stood next to Naruto who, Shikamaru couldn't help but notice, was as far away from Hinata as he could be, which was coincidentally right next to Sakura. Kira sat on the floor next to Kiba.

"We all know why we're here." Mizuki began. "We want to know why."

Everyone nodded. "How are we going to find out?" Lee asked.

"Hinata and I are going to her apartment tonight to see if we can find anything."

Shikamaru's throat closed at the mention of Ino's apartment. He had been over there just a few days before she...before she... _I can't even bring myself to think it,_ he thought.

"This needs to be top-secret." Hinata said. "No one besides the people in this room can know about it."

No one said anything for a minute. "What are we going to do when we find out what was going on with her?" Naruto asked softly. "And what do we do if we don't find anything?"

To Shikamaru's surprise, Kira spoke up. "We deal with whatever information we can find as we get it. And if we don't find anything...well, we'll deal with that after we try our very hardest to get closure."

**Choji P.O.V.**

_**A few hours later**_

Choji walked home slowly. Kira's words at Mizuki's apartment echoed in his head. _"And if we don't find anything...well, we'll deal with that after we try our very hardest to get closure."_ Choji was worried that that very thing would happen, that they'd find absolutely nothing, no clue as to why she had jumped. He didn't know if he could bear it. He remembered his conversation with Kira, a good friend of his, immediately after they'd all left.

_"We can try to find something out, but what if there really is nothing?" he'd quietly asked. "What if she didn't have a reason, didn't leave any clues? What if she's just...gone?"_

_Kira, seeing the pain in his eyes and hearing the fear in his voice, put her hand on his arm. "We have to try, Choji. If we don't we're going to ask ourselves for the rest of our lives why we didn't try. We owe it to her at the very least. We owe it to _ourselves_ to try to find something. And if there's nothing...if there's nothing then we try to go on."_

Choji smiled a little. Kira came off as a total bitch, full of sarcastic comments and plenty of attitude, but Choji was one of the only people that had ever seen underneath all that, to who she really was. And she really was a sweetheart, though she'd most likely come after him with twin katanas if she ever heard him say that. No, he'd never let her hear him say it, nor anyone else. She had saved his life; the least he could do was keep up her reputation for her.

As he strolled through the streets, he thought back to all the times Kira had literally saved him...

_Choji was headed to the training grounds. He had a huge test at the academy coming up, and he needed to pass with flying colors. Taijutsu was his weakest area, so he really needed to work on it. When he got there, however, he saw that someone had beaten him. It was a girl, someone he'd never seen before. She had tan skin, which was weird considering it was fall, and long red hair. She was working on taijutsu. Choji's jaw dropped; she was _amazing_. So fast, so strong... _Maybe I should leave before I embarass myself, _he thought. But she had already turned and seen him. _

_"Hi." she said, smiling a little. "Did you want to train?"_

_"Oh, um..yeah. I can leave though." Choji quickly said._

_The girl approached him. Choji saw that her eyes were a really pretty green. "No, it's okay. I'm Kira."_

_"My name's Choji."_

_Kira smiled. "I just moved here. My friend was supposed to train with me but she's not here. Do you want a training partner?"_

_Choji smiled wide. No one had ever asked him to be their training partner before. His face immediately fell. "I'm not very good at taijutsu."_

_"I'm not very good at genjutsu, but my friend still works on genjutsu with me. Maybe we can help each other out." Kira said. "What do you say?"_

_Choji smiled. "Sure!"_

_That day Choji remembered fondly as the day his friendship with Kira began. His mind jumped to a few years later, during the chunin exams. He had strayed away from Shikamaru and Ino to look for food when suddenly he was attacked by a boy from the hidden rain village. The boy had him pinned to a tree with his kunai. _He's going to kill me, _Choji thought. The boy was advancing towards Choji, smiling wickedly, another kunai in his hand._

_Suddenly the boy stopped. His eyes widened while his body began to tremple. "What's...what's going on? I can't move!" he said through gritted teeth._

_"You messed with the wrong person." came a voice from the shadows that Choji recognized. It was Kira. Her katana pierced the boy's body, going straight through his abdomen. He fell as she removed her weapon and approached Choji. _

_"You...are you going to kill me?" Choji asked, suddenly remembering that the object of this test was to come out the victor. _

_"No." Kira said, removing the kunai that held Choji in place. "You're my friend. I won't kill you for some stupid test." Her hair was short now, covering one of her eyes, but in the other one Choji saw an emotion he didn't quickly place. Disgust. At the time Choji didn't know why she looked like that, but he later learned she was disgusted at having to kill that boy, and that Choji thought she would've killed him in order to pass the exam._

_That was the first time Kira had saved his life. Over the years they'd fought for each other, fought with each other, and had each other's backs. But nothing could compare to what she'd done for him in the war._

**That's the end for this one! Sorry that it's kind of an awkward ending but I wanted to save what Kira had done for Choji, as well as Mizuki and Hinata breaking into Ino's apartment, for the next chapter, and I didn't want this chapter to get too long. Please review, I'd really appreciate some feedback, constructive criticism...something. Thanks :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry that it took me so long to update, my computers suck :( I'll start with a brief recap of the last chapter. Now without further ado, I give you Chapter 7.**

_That was the first time Kira had saved his life. Over the years they'd fought for each other, fought with each other, and had each other's backs. But nothing could compare to what she'd done for him in the war._

**Choji P.O.V.**

_The shinobi world was at war. Choji was standing outside of the Allied Shinobi Forces base, keeping watch. He had been standing there for hours making sure none of the white Zetsu got in; from what he'd heard they could take anyone's form. He glanced up at the sky. His replacement, a stone shinobi, was supposed to have been there an hour or so ago; where was he?_

_From behind him, Choji heard a twig snap. He turned quickly, kunai in hand. His eyes were met with a tall man, sandy brown hair mussed, scar running across his jaw from a battle long ago. On his forehead he wore the Allied Shinobi Forces forehead protector. _

_"Sorry I'm late," the man, Akihizo, said. "I got held up at the medical tent."_

_"What's the safe word?" Choji asked, keeping his guard up._

_"Do I really need to say that?" Akihizo asked with a sigh. "That's so tedious. I understand precautions, but-"_

_"What's the safe word?" Choji asked again, this time in more of a growl._

_Akihizo sighed again. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His eyes went wide, body rigid. Blood fell from his lips as he fell to the ground, dead. Standing where Akihizo had just been was white Zetsu._

_"Foolish shinobi. Did you think you could keep me out just by looking at me?" the monster asked._

_Choji didn't reply, but took a battle stance._

_"If you're looking to fight me, be warned: you will die."_

_"I'd rather die than let you hurt any of my comrades." Choji growled._

_White Zetsu smirked. "Then die, child."_

_Choji and white Zetsu ran at each other. Choji threw his kunai. White Zetsu dodged it and landed a blow to Choji's face, sending him toppling over backwards. Choji jumped back up and just barely dodged the next barrage of attacks, trying to get in a few of his own. Choji reached for his kunai, only to find that he didn't have any._

What...?!_ he thought to himself._

_White Zetsu smirked. "Looking for these?" he asked, holding up Choji's kunai knives._

When did he...? _Choji wondered._

_"Like I said, child, you'll die." White Zetsu said, pointing his finger at Choji. He then moved his arm, preparing to finish him off._

_Choji tried to move but found that he couldn't. _Dammit! _he thought, gritting his teeth. _This guy...

_Just when the kunai should've pierced Choji's skin, the sound of metal clashing onto metal filled the air. Standing in front of Choji was a kunoichi with familiar red hair, twin katanas in hand, one blocking the kunai, the other held up in front of her. Choji would've recognized her anywhere._

_Kira._

_WIth a push, she knocked white Zetsu back. Then she turned to Choji._

_"Kai! Release!"_

_His muscles relaxed; he could move again. "What are you doing here?" he asked Kira._

_"Saving your ass, apparently." she replied with a smirk. "This seems to happen a lot." _

_"You need to get out of here, he's too strong." Choji said, urgency tinting his voice._

_"And leave you here to fight that thing alone? No way." Kira said, turning back to white Zetsu, who was already coming at her with an attack. She threw up her katanas to block him, then twisted her wrist to knock him back again._

_Choji sighed with a small, almost undetectable smile. Kira wouldn't leave him, he knew her well enough to know that. She would stay and fight with him no matter how much he begged her to leave. He didn't have too much time to think about her person, though; she needed his help._

_He went in to grab white Zetsu so she could finish him with off. It was unspoken, but both of them knew what the other was planning to do. Just as he went to grab onto him, though, Zetsu turned and grinned maliciously at him. Zetsu's hand swung up. Choji saw a glint of metal in the pale moonlight. Where had he gotten a sword from? But Choji didn't have time to move out of the way._

_"Choji, move!" he heard Kira scream. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for death. _

_Blood spattered onto his face. But it wasn't his. Zetsu's blade had struck a target, but it wasn't him. Choji opened his eyes slowly._

_The edge of the sword was pointed at Choji, only inches away from him. He looked away from the blood-covered metal. It had pierced Kira. _

_"Foolish shinobi, willing to die for each other." Zetsu scoffed. Then he sank into the earth, pulling his sword with him._

_Kira began to fall, but Choji caught her in his arms. Blood flowed from her chest and mouth._

_"Hold on, Kira, I'm gonna get you help." Choji said, shaking._

_"No, don't. There's no...time." Kira said, coughing._

_Choji held her tighter, fighting tears. "Don't say that."_

_"Listen to me. Thank you...for believing in...me. Don't...ever give up." The light was fading from her eyes, but still she held his gaze as she drew one last shaky breath. "Don't stop fighting." she whispered. Her eyes fluttered closed, and her breathing slowed to a stop._

_Choji gripped onto her, shaking. Tears fell from his eyes. "Kiraaaaa!" he shouted._

That was the day Choji had sworn to give his life to defeat Madara and Tobi, later revealed to be Obito. Kira had died to save him. He would've died to bring her back, but he had to do the closest thing: fight for her.

Choji remembered how relieved he'd been when she'd been brought back to life. She'd been standing with all the other injured or revived shinobi, waiting for everyone to return to the base after their victory. Choji had been carrying an injured rain shinobi. He had just set the man down to be looked after when he'd seen her standing, smiling, one arm gripping the other. His heart had swelled with joy as he stood there, staring, before he ran to her. That day as he picked her up and spun her around, he swore to himself that he'd never let anyone hurt her again.

**Hinata P.O.V.**

It was dark out; hours had passed since the meeting at Mizuki's apartment. Hinata and Mizuki walked towards Ino's apartment building, avoiding drawing attention to themselves. They strolled through the front door, unnoticed. Hinata marveled at the lack of security; then again, this was an apartment building, not the Hyuga mansion. The two girls began to take the stairs before noticing two stoners sitting in the doorway.

"Elevator it is." Mizuki sighed, changing direction for the large brass doors of the elevator. They entered, thankfully without anyone else, and hit the round number 9. They rode in silence, watching the numbers at the top of the door light up in time with a muffled ding as the elevator went up. Finally it stopped. The doors slid open and the two girls stepped out.

Hinata followed Mizuki down the hall to a door marked 244. "How are we getting in?" she asked.

By way of response, Mizuki pulled a bobby pin out of her pocket and began fiddling with the lock. After a moment it clicked open. Mizuki saw the curious look on Hinata's face and said, "I didn't get out of Orochimaru's lair by my looks alone."

The two girls slipped inside after making sure the hallway was empty. Mizuki clicked on a light. The small apartment looked like no one had lived there for weeks. A fine layer of dust coated everything.

"It looks like she hasn't lived here in forever." Hinata said.

"Then where's she been going?" Mizuki wondered aloud. "Look around and see if you can find anything."

"Like what?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know, just something that could maybe help us."

Mizuki headed for the kitchen while Hinata went down a small hallway leading towards Ino's bedroom and bathroom. She flipped on the bathroom light and stopped short. Shattered glass covered the ground, with a brush lying in the midst of it. Had Ino broken it? Hinata sighed. _Maybe I'll find something in her room,_ she thought and went that direction.

The bedroom was immaculate, nothing out of place. The bed was made up. There were no pictures anywhere, no clothes in the closet or dresser...it was like she hadn't ever really lived there. Hinata walked over to the bedside table and opened the drawer. It was empty, save a single silver key.

Hinata grabbed it and ran out to find Mizuki, who was now in the living room looking around. She turned when Hinata came in. "There's no food anywhere here except a pack of ramen. Obviously she hadn't been here for a while."

"She didn't have any clothes here either." Hinata said. "I found this." She held up the key.

Mizuki studied it curiously. "Let's try it in all the locks in the apartment, see what it opens."

Twenty minutes later the two girls sat on the floor, frustrated. The key hadn't fit in any lock on anything in the apartment.

"What do we do now?" Mizuki asked.

"We find out what this key opens." Hinata said, looking at the key in her hand.

Mizuki sighed. "Where was she going?" she asked aloud to no one in particular. "And what does that key open?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Mizuki P.O.V.**

Two days had passed since Mizuki and Hinata had found the key, and in those two days neither of them had found whatever it was the key opened. Mizuki lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking. She thought about Ino's death, about how it was affecting everyone. Suddenly, and randomly, Mizuki remembered talking with Ino a few days after the death of her teammates...

_Ino and Mizuki sat in Mizuki's room, silent. Mizuki was sitting on her bed, knees drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs, back against the wall. Ino sat on the other end of the bed, waiting for Mizuki to say something._

_Finally, after seeing that Mizuki wouldn't break the silence, Ino spoke softly. "What happened, Mizu?"_

_Mizuki stared off into space as she spoke in a monotone, detached voice.. "We were on our way to deliver the scroll when we were attacked. Out of nowhere, shuriken were coming at us from all directions. Then there was a fireball attack. It was one thing after another, we could barely defend ourselves, much less fight back. Then one of our attackers, some stone shinobi, was in front of me, swinging a sword. I started fighting him. I saw Kohime and Daisuke locked in battle with two others as well. I locked the guy I was fighting in a genjutsu before I went to help the guys. Daisuke needed some help so I started fighting with him. Then I heard Kohime scream." Mizuki shuddered at the memory of the sound. "It was...it was awful. I can't even describe it. You would've had to hear it. I turned and saw that the guy he was fighting had used some jutsu to turn his sword into an electrical current and...and stab Kohime with it. I didn't even think, I just ran over and killed him. Kohime fell, he was clutching his abdomen. I turned him onto his back and tried to heal him, he was bleeding so bad..."_

_Ino's eyes were full of sympathy and sadness, but she didn't speak. Mizuki was too lost in the memory to notice anyways._

_"I kept saying he'd be okay. He knew I was lying to him but he just smiled and said...and said..." Mizuki's voice broke. "'Thanks for everything, Mizu.' Then he stopped breathing. I yelled his name and tried to bring him back, but I...I couldn't. Then I heard Daisuke scream my name. I turned around and saw him get in front of me. Blood splattered onto my face." Mizuki was shaking, gripping her legs tighter as she spoke. "I saw him kill the last of the three shinobi before he fell to his knees. His hands were pressed to his chest. I put my hand on his back and moved to start healing him, but he wouldn't let me. He told me...he told me not to waste my chakra. I started crying. He told me not to cry, cause he'd be okay. Then he looked at me and...and he said he loved me and...and he...kissed me."_

_Ino now had tears in her eyes, but Mizuki still didn't notice. She just continued talking, words coming out of her mouth, unable to stop._

_"Then he fell forward, and I caught him, and put my arms around him, and started crying harder because he was...he was...he was dead, like Kohime. I laid him next to Kohime and cried. I stayed there for a while until I remembered the mission. The guys would've been so mad if I hadn't finished it. So I put up a barrier, cleaned up my face, grabbed the scroll, and delivered it. Then I went back to where they were and sent a letter to the Hokage." Mizuki said. "They're dead. They're dead because I couldn't save them, because I wasn't strong enough. They shouldn't be dead..."_

_Mizuki started sobbing, crying so hard she was literally racked by the power of her sobs. Ino crawled up next to her. Mizuki put her head on her shoulder as Ino started stroking her hair, tears falling slowly. "Mizu." Ino said. "Listen to me. They may be in the afterlife, but they're still with you. You carry them in your heart, for all eternity. They're never really gone, so long as someone still loves them."_

Ino's words that day echoed in Mizuki's head. _They're never really gone, so long as someone still loves them._ That meant that as long as the people that loved Ino were still alive, she'd never be gone. Mizuki just had to know why. Why she'd done it, and why she hadn't asked for help. She wanted to know what that key unlocked, where Ino had been going...who Ino had become, because it was becoming clearer and clearer that Ino hadn't been Ino for a while. There were so many questions swirling in Mizuki's head, she was starting to doubt that she'd get an answer for any of them.

**Naruto P.O.V.**

Naruto sat at the training grounds, thinking. He knew he should've been thinking about Ino, but he'd put her out of his mind to focus on Sasuke for a moment. Where was he? After the war he'd said he had a lot to figure out before he decided whether or not to continue on his path of vengeance, then he'd disappeared. Naruto looked up at the clouds, wishing he could find an answer there. Sasuke had changed so much, but Naruto had felt that there was still a little bit of the old him in there somewhere.

While he thought of Sasuke, Itachi popped into his mind. Itachi had saved everyone when he released the Edo Tensei. Something had clearly happened between Itachi and Sasuke, but Naruto didn't know what.

Naruto sighed. _Sasuke, where are you?_

**Shikamaru P.O.V**

Shikamaru felt lost. So, so lost. He hadn't felt anything really since the day he found out Ino was dead. No pain, no sadness, no anger, no joy...nothing. But he hadn't noticed how numb he was becoming. He sat alone in the park, not thinking, not moving. He just sat there.

"Hey, stranger." came a familiar voice, though in Shikamaru's daze he couldn't place it immediately.

Temari sat down next to him, as close as possible without touching him. "I'm sorry that I couldn't make it for Ino's funeral. I tried, but I couldn't get here until now."

"It's okay." Shikamaru said tonelessly.

Temari frowned. "Shikamaru, I know this is kind of a pointless question, but are you okay?"

Shikamaru thought about replying with something sarcastic, but he found he didn't have the energy. So instead he just said, "No."

"I'm sorry." Temari said. "Will you let me be there for you?"

Shikamaru thought about what he wanted to say before answering. He turned to look at her, the woman he loved. He hadn't seen her in about a month, considering they'd both been incredibly busy, but now here she was, sitting next to him. Shikamaru could tell she didn't quite know what to say, but she was trying. Trying to help him, to be there for him. Shikamaru respected that, and loved her for it. But he wasn't quite ready to lean on anyone. He couldn't. Finally he said, "I don't know."

Then he stood and left her there, hands in his pockets. He didn't turn around or stop, just walked further and further away.

**Neji P.O.V.**

_I wonder where Hinata is?_ Neji wondered as he walked through the mansion. _I haven't seen her since the meeting at Mizuki's_.

As he thought that, he glanced into a large, empty room that Hinata had turned into a studio a few years back. Mirrors lined one wall, and a boom box was playing from the opposite wall. Hinata stood in the middle of the room, staring at her reflection. Neji walked in. She saw him and jumped, startled, then quickly turned the boom box off.

"Neji-kun! You scared me." Hinata said, approaching him. She was in sweat pants and a tank top, hair pulled back.

"Were you dancing, Hinata?" Neji asked.

Hinata shook her head. "No, I can't. I haven't been able to since Ino died." she said, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"We're all rather shaken by it." Neji said. He realized how formal he sounded, but he couldn't help talking how he normally did. "Did you and Mizuki find anything?"

"Yeah, a key." Hinata said. "We don't know what it opens, though. It didn't fit any lock in her apartment."

Neji was thoughtful for a moment. "Why don't you take it to the key maker near Ichiraku Ramen?" He suggested.

"Naga-san?"

"Yeah. If he can't find what it opens, no one can."

Hinata smiled. "I didn't think about him. Thank you, Neji."

Hinata began to leave, probably to get over there. Neji grabbed her elbow. "Wait. I wanted to ask you...has Naruto talked to you?" Naruto had told him that he was going to tell Hinata how he felt about her a couple days ago. He though that Hinata would've been thrilled, considering she'd been in love with him for years, but Hinata hadn't said anything.

Hinata's face fell, but she covered it with a smile. "Oh, u-um, yeah, he did."

"What did he say?"

"That he had to talk to me about when I told him I love him. I told him it was okay, that I knew he loved Sakura, then left."

Neji was hardly surprised. Hinata had been expecting Naruto to reject her for so long that she'd acted without hearing him out. "Maybe you should try hearing him out." Neji suggested.

"Why, so he can break my heart?" Hinata asked, bitterness in her voice.

"Trust me, cousin." Neji said. Hinata looked at him for a long moment.

"I'll think about it. Right now I'm gonna go find out what this key opens, though. I'll see you later." Then she left.

Neji shook his head, smiling a little. _Oh, Hinata..._


	9. Chapter 9

**Hinata P.O.V.**

Hinata strolled through the village towards Naga-san's shop. It was a small little brown shack, really, with the words "Naga's Key Shop" written on the outside. Hinata went in. A small man looked up from behind a counter. His large eyes were rimmed by wire glasses. His black hair was receding, but still fell down past his ears. Laugh lines and wrinkles filled his face. He smiled at Hinata as she walked in.

"Hello, Ms. Hyuga. What can I do for you?" he asked, walking over to her.

"I have a key. I need to figure out what it could open." She said, pulling out the key and handing it over to him.

Naga-san took the key, turning it over in his hand. He didn't look at it long before announcing: "It opens a mail box. More accurately, a mail box recently installed in the new apartment buildings on the south side of town."

Hinata stared at Naga-san, dumbfounded. This man was so good with keys, he could look at some random one for less than a minute before telling her exactly what it fit.

"How do you know that?" she asked.

"Easy. I made the keys to fit the mailboxes."

Hinata blushed. Kami, she was an idiot. "Th-Thank you Naga-san!" she cried before rushing out.

_I have to tell Mizuki_, she thought.

**Kiba P.O.V.**

The village was loud, sounds of construction swirling around. Children laughed and played, people greeted each other from the street…life was returning back to normal. Kiba put his hands in his pockets and walked with Akamaru by his side, on his way to help his sister at the clinic. The streets were crowded, making it hard to see where he was going. Suddenly…

"Oof!" he collided with a girl. His hands grasped her wrists, keeping her from falling backwards. He pulled her back upright and found himself face-to-face with Mizuki. Well, not really face-to-face, considering she was quite a few inches shorter than him, but…still.

He felt a blush creeping up his face. Quickly he let go of her. "S-Sorry." He said.

"It's okay." She laughed. "I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going."

"Get the hell out of the way!" some guy yelled at the pair as he swerved around them.

"Wanna go somewhere a little less busy?" Mizuki asked.

Kiba couldn't resist her smile. "Sure."

Together they strolled aimlessly, talking about nothing but everything. Mizuki smiled at everything, saw the beauty in everything around them, even though half of the village was either destroyed or under construction.

A few minutes passed when Kiba had to say, "I hate to go, but I have to go help my sister out."

"Oh!" Mizuki exclaimed. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you were going somewhere."

"It's okay." Kiba said with a smile. "I always have a few minutes to spend with you."

Mizuki blushed and looked away, smiling shyly. _Kami, she's gorgeous_. Kiba thought.

"Hey! Mizuki!" Hinata's voice called out. They both turned to see her running up. "Oh, hi Kiba-kun."

"Hey Hinata. I'll see you guys later." Kiba said, waving as he left. As he walked away, he couldn't get Mizuki's smile out of his head. He smiled at the memory of it, rubbing his fingers on the petals of a rose some vendor was selling as he walked.

**Mizuki P.O.V.**

Oh Kami, she was blushing like an idiot.

And Hinata was laughing at her.

Oh Kami.

"Mizu-chan, are you blushing?" Hinata teased.

"N-No!" Mizuki crossed her arms.

Hinata laughed. "Whatever you say. I found out what the key opens."

"Really?" Mizuki said, eyes wide.

Hinata nodded. "One of the mailboxes in an apartment building on the south side of the city."

"Fantastic," Mizuki muttered, "my favorite place to go. Well, if we want to make it back before tomorrow, let's get going."

The two set off. Mizuki groaned inwardly. She fucking hated the south side of town. It wasn't exactly "ghetto", it was just full of a bunch of idiots who constantly either hit on her or challenged her. Either way, both situations ended the same: with some jerk on his ass. Most of the idiots around there were probably going to try to get either Mizuki or Hinata to go home with them. Which basically meant that the two girls would be fighting off assholes all night while they investigated the key.

"Hey, Hinata, before we go, we should maybe change out of our ninja clothes and into something a little less…identifiable?" Mizuki suggested. Pretty much everyone in the village would recognize that they were shinobi, which would blow their cover immediately.

"Good idea. There's a clothing shop up the street, let's stop there."

Twenty minutes later the two had completely changed their look. Hinata now wore a light purple scoop-neck tee shirt and light jeans with white Converse. Mizuki chose dark jeans paired with a dark green tank top, a black jacket and black Converse. They put their regular attire, as well as their headbands, in Mizuki's apartment, which was on the way.

An hour after they'd bought the clothes they reached a two-level apartment building. Up until then the girls had pretty much been left alone. A mailbox was installed next to each door. There was a number printed on the front of each. A group of guys sat by the stairs leading to the second level.

"How are we supposed to find the one this key fits?" Mizuki wondered aloud.

"Is there a number on the key?" Hinata asked.

Mizuki looked. Sure enough, there was a tiny '29' printed on it. _Damn,_ she thought, _our ninja skills are lacking if we didn't notice that_.

"Twenty-nine." Mizuki said. "This key fits the twenty-ninth mailbox."

Hinata looked around. "How are we supposed to find it?"

Mizuki sighed, glancing towards the guys. "I guess we'll have to go ask them. Come on—I'll handle them." She grabbed Hinata's arm and pulled her along. "Excuse me!" she called out as they approached.

The guys looked up. They all looked like gang-banger wannabes. One of them was flipping a knife around, grinning in a way that Mizuki assumed was supposed to look sadistic. Inwardly she groaned.

"What are some pretty ladies like you doing out here?" one of the guys asked. He had a red hoodie on with the hood pulled up on top of his head. Black hair peeked out from underneath. Beady little black eyes looked the two up and down.

"Looking for my friend's apartment. Would you mind telling me where twenty-nine is?" Mizuki asked.

"I'll tell you where sixty-nine is." Another of the creeps said, blatantly staring at Hinata.

Hinata avoided looking at anyone. Mizuki clenched her fist but didn't let her frustration show on her face. Instead she said, "Funny. Now how about you tell me where my friend's apartment is."

Hoodie Guy stood up and walked towards Mizuki, eyeing her like a piece of meat. "How about you come with me for some fun and then I'll tell you where it is?"

Mizuki smiled. "The offer's sweet…" she grabbed his wrist and slammed her knee into his gut. "But I think I'll have to pass."

Immediately the creep's friends jumped up, as if they were going to fight. Mizuki looked up at them. "Oh no, boys, sit back down. Or things will get a whole lot worse." She slammed the guy down onto his knees and flipped him around. "Now tell me where apartment twenty-nine is. Please."

There was a long silence. Finally one of the guys said, "Last door on the bottom of this row."

Mizuki kicked the guy back towards the group. "Thank you. Come on."

She and Hinata turned and left the group, who were staring after the girls in shock. They walked to the very last apartment door. On a tan colored door a shiny metal '29' was right below an eyehole. To the left of the door was the mailbox. Mizuki handed Hinata the key.

Hinata unlocked the mailbox. It swung open. Inside was a small brown package tied together with a string. The two girls looked at each other before Hinata grabbed it. It was only about two pounds, and fit easily in the palm of Hinata's hand.

_What the hell…?_ Mizuki wondered.

"Let's not open it here." Mizuki said. "The others will want to know what we've found. Let's call them and have them meet up at my apartment."

"Good idea." Hinata said, pocketing the package. She closed and re-locked the mailbox. They headed back to Mizuki's apartment. When they were safely inside, Mizuki pulled out her cell phone and sent a mass text.

**Shikamaru P.O.V.**

Shikamaru was sitting at his usual place, thinking. Maybe he should text Temari and see if she wanted to come over, he was kind of unfair to her…

His phone buzzed. Was it Temari? He grabbed it.

_New Message From: Mizuki_

_Oh,_ he thought. _Just Mizuki._ Then his heart skipped a beat. _Oh god, it's Mizuki. What if she found something?_

He clicked Open and read the short text.

**Meet Hinata and I at my apartment. We found something.**

**Well, there's the new chapter! Please rate and review **


	10. Chapter 10

**Sakura P.O.V.**

Sakura had been cleaning up her apartment when she'd received the text from Mizuki. Quickly she'd thrown down the plate she was washing and run to find her shoes. When she was about two blocks from Mizuki's house she caught sight of a certain blonde, knuckle-headed ninja.

"Naruto!" she called.

He turned and, upon seeing who it was, smiled and stopped to wait for her to catch up. When she was next to him they began walking.

"I wonder what Mizuki found." Naruto said.

"Me too. Hopefully it's something useful." Sakura said.

"They're doing their best, given the circumstances." Naruto gently reminded his friend. "Ino was their friend too. It can't be easy trying to find out what happened."

Sakura's shoulders slumped. "I know. I just wish there was something I could do."

Naruto put a hand under her chin and tilted it up, forcing her to look into his deep blue eyes. "There is. You have to support them. They took this on by themselves. It's dangerous, you know. They don't know what they might run into."

Sakura turned away from Naruto. "No one asked them to take it on alone."

Naruto sighed, but said no more. Finally they reached Mizuki's building. They took the steps up to her second-floor apartment. Kira was just arriving.

"Hey Kira." Naruto said. Kira smiled at him, but the smile disappeared when she and Sakura met eyes. Kira held the door open for them as she went in.

They found they were the last ones there. Mizuki was standing next to Hinata across from the couch, which held Shikamaru, Choji, and Lee; Tenten and Neji sat on the love seat, while Shino stood next to it; Kiba sat on the floor, legs stretched out in front of him. Kira took a seat next to Kiba. Sakura sat on the arm of the couch, and Naruto leaned on the wall next to her.

"So what did you find?" Lee asked.

"Well, we found a key at her apartment, but it didn't fit anything there." Mizuki started. "So Hinata took it to a keymaker-"

"It was Neji's idea." Hinata cut it, gesturing to her cousin.

"And the keymaker said it fit a mailbox in some of the new apartment complexes on the south side of the village." Mizuki continued, motioning for Hinata to continue.

"S-so we went there-"

"Wait," Naruto interrupted. "You two went to the south side? _Alone_?"

Hinata got a look in her eyes that Sakura hadn't seen before. She actually looked kind of...aggravated.

"Yes, Naruto, we did. W-we aren't kids, you know. We can handle o-ourselves just fine."

_**She says with her oh-so intimidating stutter,**_ Inner Sakura thought.

_Shut up_, Sakura said, hushing her Inner.

"Anyways," Mizuki said before Naruto could open his mouth again, "We went and found the mailbox it belonged to. When we opened it..."

"We found this." Hinata pulled out a small brown package, able to fit in the palm of her hand.

Tenten spoke up. "What is it?"

"We don't know. We were waiting for all of you to be here before we opened it." Mizuki said.

The room was dead quiet. Sakura felt her anger bubbling up. Who made Mizuki and Hinata the only two that were allowed to find out what happened? They weren't the only ones who cared about her. She decided to speak up. "Who made you two the leaders of this whole thing?"

All eyes turned to her. "Excuse me?" Mizuki said, folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm just saying. You two are going around finding everything out, not letting anyone else help, acting like you were the only ones who cared about Ino."

"I'll say this once, so I suggest you shut your mouth and listen," Mizuki hissed, her eyes slits. Sakura paled. Everyone knew about Mizuki's famous temper. She'd just successfully turned it onto herself. "We don't think for a minute that we were the only ones who cared about her. Do you realize the severity of what we're doing? She killed herself. There won't be an investigation, we all know that. If anyone else finds outwhat we're doing, do you realize the immense amount of trouble we'd be in? It's hard enough keeping suspicion off of the two of us; do you realize how hard it would be to cover up for _twelve_ of us?" Mizuki's voice was raising slightly. "Next time you think about opening your mouth and saying something about what we're doing, don't. We're sacrificing a lot. We need you guys to cover for us and make sure no one finds out. If you can't do that without causing drama, then I suggest you get out now. If you think you can handle it, stay where you are."

Dang. Sakura had forgotten how it felt to be on the other side of Mizuki's anger; it wasn't pleasant. She stayed seated, but said nothing. After a moment of silence, Kira spoke up. "So. Who's gonna open up this package?"

Surprisingly, Kiba stood. "I will." Hinata handed it over to him. He set it carefully on Mizuki's coffee table and pulled the thin white string keeping it closed. The brown paper fell off. Inside was a small plastic bag full of something white. Kiba carefully picked it up and gasped. It was...

"Is that _cocaine_?" Kira asked, eyes wide.

Sure enough, it was. No one seemed to know how to react to this new information.

Sakura was shocked. What was Ino doing with drugs? Whether she was buying, selling, transporting, or even-Kami forbid-_using_, it didn't matter to Sakura. What mattered was her best friend was involved with drugs somehow. Sakura hadn't had any clue that Ino could have had something to do with cocaine.

_Ino_, she thought sadly, _who _were_ you?_

**Shikamaru P.O.V.**

No one seemed to know what to say. With this new knowledge, everything Shikamaru had ever thought about Ino was flipped around.

"I think it would be best for all of us to go home and get some rest." Neji finally said. "We can meet back up later and figure out what to do next."

No one opposed. One by one the Konoha Twelve filed out of Mizuki's apartment. Shikamaru couldn't help but notice Kiba stalled and glanced at Mizuki before he left, as if he wanted to say something but decided against it. Finally it was just Shikamaru and Mizuki. She sighed heavily before plopping down next to him and putting her head on his shoulder.

"Sometimes I wonder if I can do this." Mizuki said after a minute, her voice barely more than a whisper. Shikamaru tilted his head towards her, waiting for her to continue like he knew he would. "I have no idea what I'm going to find out. I'm honestly scared of what I'll find."

Shikamaru put his arm around her shoulders. Sometimes he was astounded that such a strong kunoichi as Mizuki could be so small. "How are things with you and Temari?" Mizuki asked suddenly, changing the subject. To most it would've seemed almost rude, but Shikamaru knew Mizuki better than that. He knew she didn't want to show her fear to anyone, even her closest friends.

"I don't know." Shikamaru admitted. "She's back, but I don't...I don't know if I can let myself lean on her just yet."

"She knows what it feels like, you know. And she wouldn't have come all this way if she didn't really and truly love you." Mizuki gently reminded him.

_Damn_, Shikamaru thought, _I hate when she's right._ "What do I do?"

Mizuki turned to face him. "Go see her. She's staying at the Blue Mansion, in the last room on the left on the third floor."

Shikamaru smiled a bit. Mizuki had it all planned out, as usual. "And if she doesn't want to see me? I blew her off earlier..."

Mizuki put her hands on Shikamaru's shoulders. "She loves you. She knows you're hurting. She's not gonna take it personally."

Shikamaru sighed. "Ok. I'll go."

"Good." Mizuki smiled. She hugged her friend tight. "Now get going." She said when she let go.

Shikamaru bolted out of her apartment. The Blue Mansion was only six blocks away. He made it in about three and a half minutes. As he ran through the front door, the lady behind the desk cried, "Sir! You can't run in here!"

"Sorry lady," he said as he found the stairs. Three flights of stairs later, he was staring down a carpeted hallway. _Last door on the left,_ he thought. Before he knew it he was there, pounding on a blue-painted door.

"If this is housekeeping somebody already-" Temari said, throwing the door open. "-was here. Shikamaru."

God, she was beautiful. Her hair was down, something he rarely saw, and she was wearing a large tee shirt, nothing else.

"I'm sorry." he said. "I shouldn't have pushed you away like that."

"It's okay, I-" Temari started to say, but Shikamaru cut her off.

"No, it's not. Just listen. You came all this way to be there for me and I pushed you away. That wasn't fair. You deserve better than that. I'm sorry. I don't know why I ran away from you. It just...it hurts so much. And I know you know how it feels." Shikamaru said. He wasn't really sure where he was going with what he was saying, but words kept pouring out. "Will you...will you still be here for me? Even after I was a jerk?"

Temari smiled softly and took Shikamaru's hand and pulled him far enough into her room that she could shut the door, giving the two some privacy. "Of course I will, Shikamaru."

"I love you." The words tumbled out of Shikamaru's mouth gently, surprising both of them. As he said them, though, he found that they were the most honest three words he'd ever spoken.

"What?" Temari asked softly, eyes wide.

Shikamaru smiled, repeating himself with more confidence. "I love you, Temari. More than anything."

Then he put his arms around her waist, pulled her to him, and kissed her. They'd kissed before, sure, but never like they did then. They had never allowed themselves to really feel it before, but the passion was there now. Temari pulled back and looked into her lover's eyes.

"I love you too." she whispered with a small smile.

Shikamaru was filled with a joy he wasn't sure he should be able to feel so soon after the death of a friend, but at that moment he didn't care. He loved her, and she loved him, and screw the shinobi laws that said they shouldn't feel anything. Shikamaru knew what love felt like, and he would never stop wanting to feel like he did in that moment.

Temari kissed him again, lightly, but it fit the moment. Shikamaru didn't try to push it any further, but he didn't really want to. He wanted to keep the beautiful, perfect moment for as long as he could.

**Hinata P.O.V.**

Another night spent alone. Hinata lay looking up at her ceiling, watching the fan spin around and around and around. Neji had snuck out to spend the night with Tenten (again-and they claimed there was _"nothing going on"_...yeah right) and Hanabi was at Konahamaru's "studying". Hinata felt very alone.

Suddenly she remembered something Neji had said earlier, something about giving Naruto a chance to explain. Should she? But what if he turned her down and broke her heart...

She sighed and grabbed her phone. May as well see what he had to say.

**Hey**, she typed, **what did you want to talk to me about a few days ago?**

She didn't have to wait long for a reply. Her phone buzzed with the message, **Can we meet somewhere and talk?**

Her heart lept to her throat. Was he just going to humiliate her in public? _No,_ she thought, _N-Naruto's too kind to do that_. After a minute she replied. **When and where?**

**Ichiraku Ramen in half an hour?**

"May as well." Hinata said aloud before sending **Meet you there.**

She had put on pajamas as soon as she got home from Mizuki's. Deciding that that probably wasn't the best attire for going out in public, she threw on dark jeans and a long-sleeve V-neck light purple shirt. Thankfully she had some slip-on shoes so she wouldn't be late.

Half an hour later Hinata arrived at Ichiraku Ramen, coincidentally at the same time as Naruto.

"Hey," he said, somewhat nervously. "I thought I was gonna be late, I didn't want to keep you waiting."

"A-Actually I thought that I was going to be late." Hinata smiled.

Naruto smiled too. "Come on, I'll pay."

The two went in. Teuchi looked up as they sat down. "Ah, Naruto and Lady Hinata! What can I get for you?"

They placed their orders. As Teuchi prepared their food, Hinata looked at Naruto. "So...what did you want to talk to me about?"

Naruto gulped. "Well, uh, what I wanted to say was, um..." He rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"It's okay if you're going to tell me you aren't interested." Hinata said gently. She hoped her eyes were as good at hiding her dishonesty as her voice was.

Naruto's beautiful blue eyes widened. "No! I mean that...that isn't what I was going to say." He sighed. "I'm blowing this, aren't I?"

Hinata laughed. "Just tell me what you want to say."

"Well...remember when you told me you loved me?" Hinata nodded. "I couldn't stop thinking about it for so long afterwards. You were so willing to sacrifice yourself for me. I never expected anyone to say that they loved me, or be willing to die for me. Then during the war things just kept happening, and I kept thinking and thinking and..."

Naruto stopped, as if trying to figure out what to say. Hinata began to mentally build up her walls, preparing for rejection.

"I think...no, I know that I want to be with you."

Hinata's eyes widened. She clearly hadn't anticipated _that_. "Wh-What?"

Naruto smiled. "I want to be with you. I know I'm an idiot and I should've done this a long time ago, but will you give me a chance?"

Hinata couldn't believe what she was hearing. Naruto Uzamaki, the boy she'd been in love with forever, was asking her if she would give him a chance?

"Y-Yes." Hinata said.

Naruto nearly jumped out of his seat. "Really? You will?"

"Yes. I will." Hinata said with much more confidence than she had before.

This time Naruto _did_ jump out of his seat. He picked her up and spun her around. When he finally set her down, he was looking deeply into her eyes. She began to blush and looked away.

"Don't." Naruto said, tilting her head back up towards his. "You're so beautiful."

Hinata thought she might die of happiness right then and there.

**There's chapter ten! I'll be updating as soon as I can. In the meantime, please review :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello! I'm gonna try to switch up character P.O.V.s this chapter since I have a group that I gravitate towards a lot. Also, I threw in a LOT of Kira's background. Enjoy **

**Tenten P.O.V.**

A ray of sunshine fell across Tenten's face, waking her. As she stretched, she remembered the night with Neji beforehand. She smiled, but that smile faded when she turned her head and saw the side of her bed that he'd slept on empty. With a small sigh, she threw the sheets off of her and swung her legs over the side of her bed, headed to the shower.

The shower was hot. She turned the water on while she undressed; the mirror was foggy almost immediately. While she scrubbed her hair, she thought about Neji. She'd known that she loved him for a long time. And even though he said he loved her too, she was finding it harder and harder to believe him. They'd been doing this sneak-over-stay-the-night-and-disappear-by-morning thing for months. All of their friends were getting suspicious, constantly asking if there was something between them. Tenten would love to say yes, but she wasn't quite sure if there really was. Years of friendship mixed with flirtation and more recently sex, yeah, but they'd call that exactly what she knew it was: a friends-with-benefits deal. They certainly weren't dating and in public he never acted like he had feelings for her, but when they were all alone it was different. She'd asked him before why they weren't dating if they loved each other and weren't caught up in another relationship, and his response was always heart-crushingly the same: because Hinata's father, being head of the clan, had to approve of Tenten before Neji could date her. Tenten had gone to Hinata to see if this were true for the branch as well as the main clan, claiming to have had her eye on one of the other members of the branch family, and Hinata had told her that yes, her father had to approve of the relationships of everyone in the clan, regardless if they belonged to main or branch.

The worst part was Tenten had no idea how to get the mighty Hiashi Hyuga's approval of her. She wasn't even sure if Neji would really want to date her if Hiashi approved.

There it was, the thought that Tenten most feared to be true: that Neji only was interested in their current arrangement and wouldn't want to further it. Tenten had endured a hell of a lot of pain in her time as a kunoichi, but that one thought was enough to completely break her, especially because she believed it was true. As she stood with water pouring over her, Tenten began to cry. She cried for the people who had died in the war, for the people whose lives had been torn apart, for Ino, and for her breaking heart. She cried like he hadn't been able to in years, all the while wishing she had someone to comfort her and hold her when she cried, wishing she had the love she'd always dreamed she'd find one day. She'd thought she'd found it with Neji, but she wasn't so sure anymore…

**Hanabi P.O.V.**

Hanabi was walking down the hall when she heard the window in her sister's room slide open. Curious, she opened the door and popped her head in, only to see something very surprising. Hinata was half in the room, swinging her other leg in. As she shut the window, Hanabi closed her door and cleared her throat. Hinata jumped and turned around quickly. Seeing it was her sister, she threw her hand to her chest and let out a deep breath.

"Y-You scared me, Hanabi!"

"Sorry." Hanabi said. "Where were _you_?"

Hinata smiled to herself. "With N-Naruto. He asked me o-out last night."

Hanabi's jaw dropped. "What did you say?"

"Yes."

Hanabi ran over to her sister, grabbed her hands, and jumped up and down squealing. "Oh my gosh, really? That's so great!"

Hinata laughed. "Th-thanks."

Suddenly Hanabi stopped. "Wait, what about Father? He has to approve it first."

"Oh yeah…" Hinata said, smile disappearing, obviously deflated.

"I have an idea!" Hanabi exclaimed after a minute. "Why don't you get Naruto to ask Father's permission? He is the hero of the village, after all, it can't be _that_ hard to get Father to approve."

Hinata grinned. "You're right! G-Good idea."

"You guys can keep dating in secret, I won't tell." Hanabi whispered. Then, in a normal voice, she said, "I'm headed to Moegi's for a little bit. See you later!"

"Bye." Hinata said. "And, Hanabi?"

"Yeah?" Hanabi said, turning.

"Thanks."

Hinata had such a bright smile when she said it, that Hanabi had to smile too. She loved seeing her sister happy, which was a rare occurrence. "No problem. You'd do the same for me."

Hanabi left her sister's room and then the compound. She walked until she couldn't see the mansion she called home anymore. When she was certain that no one she knew would see her, she broke into a run. After about a minute, she reached a crossroad. Turning left would take her to Moegi's house. With a small smirk, Hanabi turned right, towards Konohamaru's house.

She reached his family's house about five minutes later. To avoid being spotted by his parents, Hanabi hid in the bushes by the gate. She whipped out her phone to alert Konohamaru that she was there. A few minutes later, the back door opened just enough so that her slim body could sneak in. Using all of her ninja stealth, Hanabi crept through the yard and slid through the door. While she rolled onto her back, the door was shut. Standing above her was her teammate, Konohamaru. His signature cocky grin, the one that so resembled Naruto-san's, was nowhere to be found. Instead, he showed the sweet smile saved only for her. His brown hair, once so long, had been cut recently. It now was shorter than Naruto's, but still managed to retain some spike. He looked so much more grown up then he had in the academy. Hanabi had to smile.

Konohamaru cocked his head, still smiling. "What are you smiling for, Princess?"

The first time Konohamaru had called her "princess", Hanabi had nearly broken his jaw. It wasn't until sometime during the war that she'd started to see it how he meant it, not as rude or sarcastic but genuinely sweet, in some strange yet totally Konohamaru-ish way.

"Your hair. I like it."

Konohamaru began to blush. "Thanks." He helped her up off of the floor. Together they went to the basement, secluded and safe from prying eyes.

Hanabi sat on the couch, stretching her legs out. Konohamaru sat on the arm of the couch by her feet. They began to talk about whatever came to their minds. This is what they always did. They couldn't just go meet in public, or her father would have someone following them, watching over their every move, and gossip would begin to circulate. Konohamaru was the only person Hanabi could really open up to. Did she have feelings for him? Yes, but she'd built up a wall around them so that he wouldn't know.

There was a small lapse in the conversation. Konohamaru was just _looking_ at her, just looking into her eyes and saying nothing. Suddenly self-conscious, Hanabi asked, "What?"

"I'm sorry." Konohamaru said. Before Hanabi could even ask what he was sorry for, he leaned forward and his lips met hers, briefly, but it was enough.

Into the wall, a gate was suddenly built and opened in the same moment.

**Gaara P.O.V.**

The village looked most beautiful at sundown. The sky was a canvas of yellows bleeding into oranges bleeding into reds that faded to black. The sand blew around softly with the occasional breeze. Shadows stretched out, casting themselves over buildings next door. Most families were inside, but the streets were still full of teenagers either training or having fun. Sunagakure had recovered well from the war.

Gaara stood at the window in his office overlooking the village, watching everything. He had survived the Fourth Shinobi World War, and had vowed to never allow his village to be caught in such a devastating fight again. They hadn't lost as many as others had, but Suna was small to begin with. The war hadn't helped. But thanks to Gaara's policies, military strength was up by twelve percent and the economy had somewhat stabilized in the last two years. But the war still haunted the lives of those who had fought in it.

Gaara had received word a few days ago that Ino Yamanaka, whom he had known and fought alongside but hadn't been close to, had committed suicide. While most saw her as someone to be shamed, Gaara felt sorry for her. He had been in dark places, but he'd made it to an even darker place than suicide. He knew how that felt; something had been tearing at her and she hadn't seen any other way out. Unfortunately, he couldn't leave his post as Kazekage to attend the funeral, and Kankuro had been on a mission, but when Temari had asked if she could go to Konoha to see how Shikamaru was holding up, Gaara had readily agreed. He knew she wouldn't be there until after the funeral, but something was better than nothing.

As he looked out over his village, Gaara's thoughts drifted to Sasuke Uchiha. No one had seen or heard from him since the Allied Forces won the war. As far as anyone knew Naruto had been the last person to see him, but Gaara suspected differently. He thought back to the day Sasuke had disappeared from the Allied headquarters…

"_You won't stay?" Sakura asked, her eyes filling with a look of crushed hope._

_Sasuke shook his head. "No. I have a few things to figure out. Besides, I don't think I'm really wanted."_

_No one protested that. Finally Naruto said, "I'll walk to the border with you."_

"_N-Naruto, I'm not sure that's a good idea," Hinata said. "Everyone will be l-looking for you and trying to t-talk to you."_

"_You're right." Naruto said. He looked disappointed at the prospect of not being able to spend a few minutes alone with the person he'd spent years desperately fighting to bring back._

_Mizuki spoke up. "I can take you to a place where no one will find you. You'll be totally alone."_

"_How?" Sakura asked._

_Shikamaru apparently knew the answer. Then again, he and Mizuki had been friends for so long, Gaara would've been surprised if he didn't know almost everything about her. "Mizuki has this ability to pull people into gaps. They're like air pockets in the universe. It's like pulling someone into a different dimension, like Kakashi did when he fought Obito."_

_Naruto's jaw dropped. "You can do that?" Even Hinata, one of Mizuki's other best friends, looked shocked. Gaara was surprised, and also impressed. He hadn't known Mizuki possessed such a unique ability. But Gaara also noticed that Sasuke looked just as surprised as everyone in the room, save Mizuki and Shikamaru._

_Mizuki nodded. "It'll give you two some time to talk, if you want. Or I can pull you halfway between dimensions, so you can walk through this world without being seen. You could walk to the border of camp undetected."_

_Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "And what toll does that have on you?"_

_Mizuki shrugged. "It takes chakra, just like anything else."_

_Sasuke looked Mizuki dead in the eye for a heartbeat, then two. Finally he said, "The second one. We'll walk undetected."_

_Mizuki nodded and performed a few handsigns. The two boys froze, then disappeared…._

Naruto hadn't said much about what the two had spoken about on their invisible walk, but Gaara remembered the toll it had taken on Mizuki. She was in a meditative state whilst performing the jutsu, but as soon as she broke it off she had begun to collapse. Shikamaru had caught her, and she had recovered within a few minutes, but she'd disappeared for a period of time that night and never specified where she'd gone any further than "a walk". Gaara couldn't help but wonder where Sasuke had been for the past two years. The only thing Gaara knew for sure was that he wasn't with his old team. Karin had become a medic for Konoha after standing trial for her crimes, but was granted a deal due to giving detailed descriptions of Orochimaru's experiments. Suigetsu was still roaming the earth, doing odd jobs for whoever here and there. Juugo had died in the war. Sasuke had no connections to anyone in the world aside from his friends in Konoha. Gaara sighed. _I guess I'll just have to wait and see what he decides to do_.

**Kira P.O.V.**

The time in between dusk and nighttime was the best. It was as if the universe was holding its breath, waiting for the sky to completely blacken, before letting the air out. Kira sat on her windowsill, looking out at her view. She lived across from a park, so when she looked out she saw thick trees and a lake that shimmered, reflecting the sky's colors day by day. But night always fell, and when it did, the lake and sky were matching shades of black. Sighing, Kira headed to the bathroom to shower. The water was hot, and as usual Kira took a little longer than most people, letting the water cool to lukewarm before shutting it off. Illogical as it was, Kira was always afraid that one day the water would only be the icy cold that had shocked her system for years again. She shuddered at the memory. Growing up dirt-poor would never leave her.

Kira fell asleep that night immediately. In her dreams she was transported back in time, back to her childhood, back before she was saved from the hell that was her life, before Mizuki and Konoha…

_The rain in Amegakure never stopped, it seemed. Water dripped from multiple places in the ceiling, but six-year-old Kira didn't notice. Something always leaked in the little shack she called home. _

"_Kira, come on. It's time to eat." Her big sister, Rue, said from the small kitchen area. _

_Kira left her spot by the window to get what little meal she would be able to have. Rue's dirty blonde hair barely reached her shoulders, which she said was helpful for keeping it out of her face. Their brothers, Takashi and Naka, were already scooping up their portion. Takashi and Naka both had brown hair, but Naka's eyes were brown and Takashi's were green. Rue handed Kira a bowl of watery soup. Out of the four, Kira was the only one with long hair, mostly because her mother's hair had been as red as Kira's and hopelessly long, and Kira couldn't bear to cut it._

_Rue, Takashi, and Naka weren't really Kira's siblings. They were all orphaned and had banded together to take care of each other. Rue had found Kira huddled in a dank alley a year prior. She'd taken her home to the boys, who weren't thrilled at the prospect of another mouth to feed, but agreed to let Kira stay so long as she pitched in. After some prompting, they finally got her to reveal that her parents had been murdered in a raid, and she'd been all on her own for three months, stealing what little food she could. _

_They had one shower that was unbelievably small and spit out icy cold water 24/7. They'd all agreed on five minute showers tops, in order to keep costs down. Kira had only agreed because she hated how cold the water was. They spent days struggling to survive, and nights stealing whatever resources they could to make it through the days. It was a hard life, but it suited Kira just fine, and she was with a family that wouldn't abandon her. But one day that all changed with the arrival of a blue-haired woman._

_Kira had been out on a raid with Takashi and Naka. When they returned, Rue was speaking to a stranger in the kitchen. "Who's this?" Takashi asked, instinctively shielding Kira. _

_The woman turned to the three in the doorway. Her hair was short and had a blue tint, and her eyes were amber colored. There was a flower behind her hair, and she had a piercing below her bottom lip. The woman was wearing a black cloak with red clouds. Kira hadn't known then how important that woman would become to her._

"_This is Lady Konan." Rue said. Naka and Takashi stood straight up at the mention of her name. "She's here to see Kira."_

"_Hello." Lady Konan said. "Are you Kira?"_

_Kira stepped forward slowly. "Yes."_

_Lady Konan approached Kira and crouched down in front of her. "How would you like to come with me to train and live?"_

_Kira blinked and looked back and forth between Rue and Lady Konan. "But I'd have to leave my family."_

"_Yes, I know. But it's an opportunity that would be unwise to pass up."_

_Kira bit her bottom lip. "I don't know…"_

"_Go." Naka said. "You'll be safer, and better taken care of."_

"_But—" _

"_Naka's right," Takashi said. "You'll have a better life with Lady Konan. You may even be able to get out of here."_

_Kira still wasn't sure. She'd lost her parents—she wasn't sure she wanted to lose her new family too._

"_Kira, look at me." Rue said in a gentle yet commanding tone of voice. Kira listened. "You are strong. If you didn't have potential to be amazing, Lady Konan wouldn't be here. With us, you'll never achieve that potential. You have to go with her."_

"_But I'll never see you again, will I." It wasn't a question. Kira knew it was the truth, just like everyone in the room did. Rue's silence confirmed it. Kira turned to Lady Konan. "Why do you want to train me?"_

"_Like Rue said, you're strong. There's talent in you that you don't even know you have. If you come with me, I can train you to use that talent."_

_Kira was thoughtful for a moment. Then she said, "I'll do it."_

_Lady Konan smiled. "I was hoping you would. I'll wait outside and let you say goodbye." She stood, nodded to Rue, Naka, and Takashi, and went outside. _

_Kira's siblings surrounded her in a tight embrace. "We'll miss you." Naka said._

"_This is a great chance for you to make something of yourself besides being a thief to survive." Takashi said._

"_We'll never forget you." Rue said._

_Kira said nothing, just hugged them. Eventually the moment passed. It was time for Kira to go._

_People stared as Lady Konan led Kira to the Tower. They all were thinking the same thing: there goes a dead girl. Because no one that entered that tower ever came out. "Don't worry," Lady Konan said, "everything I throw at you, you'll be able to handle. You're stronger than you think."_

Kira had spent six years training vigorously with Konan, who had taken her under her wing completely. One day Konan had told her that she'd done everything she could for Kira, but that it was time for Kira to go use her skills to better the world. She'd set up a place for Kira to live in Konoha, Konan had said, and that Itachi knew a girl her age who'd help her get settled. Leaving another family had been hard for Kira, but Konan had promised that she could stay in Konoha if she liked. And she did. She'd made friends, grown as a person and a shinobi, and gained a reputation as being quick to get the job done, but Kira had never forgotten her time with Rue, Naka, and Takashi, or the way Konan had taken her in and given her a chance in an otherwise unforgiving world.

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	12. Chapter 12

**Neji P.O.V.**

Today was the day. As soon as Neji woke next to Tenten, looking at her sleeping, peaceful form, he knew he had to ask—no, tell Hiashi that he loved her and wanted her to be his. Screw the old Hyuga traditions and laws, he loved the beautiful weapons mistress. Yes, she was brash, and yes, she didn't care a lick about traditions, but she made him feel alive, and she made him happy, and he loved her. He was ready to freely admit it. He loved Tenten, and he wanted her to be his.

He slipped out of her apartment after placing a kiss on her cheek, headed for the Hyuga compound. As he walked, his thoughts drifted to Ino, just buried, dead. _Is it really right to do this so soon after her death?_ He wondered, feelings of confliction rising within him. _Well, the world didn't stop turning after the war. It certainly won't after her suicide._

Neji reached the stark white walls of the compound and, with determined strides, finally found Hiashi, watching Hanabi train. Neji waited patiently until Hiashi gestured for him to approach. Neji bowed down to Hiashi smoothly, containing his nerves. With a small smile he realized he'd never been nervous to say anything to the man before.

"Yes?" Hiashi asked, eyes never leaving his younger daughter.

"I have something I would like to speak to you about in regards to a woman." Neji said.

Hiashi was silent for a moment. "Rise." Neji did as he was told. "Come with me."

Neji followed behind the man, studying his back. Hiashi's hair, long as ever, moved with each step he took. He turned into a room where they could talk privately, sitting back on his legs, watching as Neji closed the door behind them and then sat in the same position, head bowed.

"What is this about?" Hiashi asked.

"I would like to ask your permission to marry Tenten." Neji said quickly, holding his breath. His entire future rested on this man's decision. If he said no, everything Neji wanted for his future would go down the tubes.

"The girl that was part of your genin team?" Hiashi asked. Neji nodded. "Are you asking because you've gotten her pregnant?"

Neji blushed. "No sir, I am asking because I love her and want to spend my life with her."

"Does she return your feelings?"

"Yes."

"The Council wouldn't be thrilled with the match." Hiashi said. Neji felt as though a crushing blow had been dealt to him. He started to thank Hiashi for his time when the man said, "But I am clan leader, and the final decision rests with me. I approve of the marriage."

Neji looked up in shock, forgetting all tradition and ritual momentarily. "You do?"

"Neji, you have proven yourself loyal to the clan. I trust that you would do nothing to dishonor the Hyuga name. So yes, I approve of the union between you and Tenten."

Neji smiled wide and then, remembering his manners and who he was in front of, bent his head so low it brushed the floor. "Thank you, sir. Thank you very much."

"I suggest you go buy a ring, if you haven't already done so, and ask for her hand."

"Of course, sir."

Hiashi stood, signaling to Neji that he could, too. Neji waited for Hiashi to leave so as to not be rude. He could've sworn he saw a ghost of a smile on the elder man's face, but he was so distracted by the thought of being able to marry Tenten that he couldn't be sure. Despite his excitement, he managed to calmly walk to the nearest jeweler.

"Hello, sir." The old man that owned the shop said, smiling up at Neji. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for a ring. An engagement ring." Neji said.

The man's smile widened. "Ah, finally found that special lady, huh?" He chuckled. "We have a wonderful selection over here."

Neji followed the man over to a display case full of beautiful rings. Some were elaborate, some simple, some with large diamonds, some small. There were so many choices he was almost overwhelmed. "She likes simple things, but it can't be boring, because she's anything but." Neji said as he looked at the large selection.

"I have just the thing." The man reached into the case and picked up a ring, holding it out for Neji to see. It had a silver band, and a nice-sized princess-cut diamond in the center, nothing else. It was simple, but perfect for a shinobi, and perfect for Tenten. Neji smiled.

"It's perfect. I'll take it."

The man walked over to the register, ringing it up. As Neji paid, the man placed the ring in a black box, just small enough that Neji could slip it into his pocket. "Thank you." Neji said, turning to go.

"Good luck!" The man called after him. Neji smiled and headed for Tenten's place.

_I'm going to ask her to marry me tonight_, Neji thought to himself. And, in a rare moment, Neji Hyuga began to whistle as he walked down the street.

**Temari P.O.V.**

Temari was awakened by Shikamaru rolling over and throwing his arm around her waist. He'd spent the night with her, and boy had it been good. She never wanted to leave this place, Shikamaru. But she knew that she had to get back to her own village sooner rather than later. As if he knew what she was thinking, Shikamaru buried his face in her hair. "Stay." He said, although they both knew she couldn't.

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand next to her. Picking it up, she sighed. "It's Gaara." She said. A moment later, after reading the message, she said, "I have to go back to Suna tomorrow."

Shikamaru sighed, tickling the back of her neck. "Well then, I guess we'll just have to stay in bed all day today."

"As much as I'd love to," Temari said, rolling over to kiss his forehead, "I can't. I promised Gaara that I'd go talk to Kira for him."

"Kira?" Shikamaru said, wrinkling his nose. Temari could hear his unheard question: _that troublesome woman?_ "Why?"

"He has something he wants me to give to her." The blonde said. "It's a scroll. I don't know what it says."

Temari got out of the warm bed, immediately wishing she could crawl back into it. She grabbed a towel and went into the bathroom to shower, knowing that Shikamaru was too lazy to get out of bed just yet. She showered quickly, dried off, and re-dressed before ever leaving the bathroom, much to Shikamaru's obvious frustration. "What am I supposed to do while you talk to that woman?" Shikamaru asked, pouting as he got dressed.

"Go find one of your friends and talk about how troublesome women are." Temari smirked at the look Shikamaru threw her. Before she left she kissed him and said, "Meet me back here tonight." And then, knowing he was watching her leave, she put on her sexy walk and left.

_How the hell am I supposed to find Kira in this village?_ Temari asked herself, realizing that she hadn't a clue where the girl would be. She decided to walk around for a bit before, frustrated, she entered a tea shop to think. As luck would have it, who did she see sitting alone but the vibrant redhead.

Temari slid into the seat across from Kira. "Hey." She said.

"Hey." Kira smiled a little, taking a sip of her tea. "Nice to see you again."

"Likewise."

The two women chatted for a bit, ignoring any subjects that could lead them to Ino's suicide, before Kira said, "Look, Temari, we both know we aren't the best of friends, so there has to be a reason you came here. You were looking for me. Why?"

Temari pulled the scroll from Gaara out of her back. "I was asked to bring this to you from Gaara."

She slid it across the table to the other woman, watching as Kira opened and read it. After a few minutes she calmly rolled the scroll back up, handed it back to Temari, and said, "Looks like I'm going to Suna with you."

"What?" Temari asked, opening the scroll and reading it for herself. _Kira, _it said, _As Kazekage, I am requesting that you accompany Temari back to Sunagakure so that I may speak with you on a very important matter. I have already spoken to the Hokage and she has cleared the journey for you._ "Well. It would appear that you are."

"What time are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Noon." Temari said, wondering why Gaara didn't tell her about bringing Kira back to the village.

Kira nodded before standing. "Well, I have to meet up with Mizuki, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you." Temari said, watching Kira leave. _What the hell?_ Temari wondered. _What is my brother up to?_

**Kira P.O.V.**

Kira left the tea shop, and Temari, quickly, headed not to Mizuki's apartment but to her own. She flew up the steps and into the safety of her small home, the place she'd lived since Konan had sent her there all those years ago. _He knows,_ she thought, shakily taking deep breaths in a futile attempt to calm herself. _Somehow he knows_.

Kira took another deep breath and began to argue with herself. _Of course he doesn't know, calm down. No one knows about that but Mizuki, and she wouldn't tell or she would've exposed herself._ _He just wants to see you for something._

Still, Kira could feel her stomach turning at the thought of her darkest secret, her greatest fear that it would be revealed to anyone but her trusted friend. She closed her eyes and suddenly she was _there_, in that damn cell, listening to that snake talk…

_Kira didn't know how long she'd been there. Weeks, maybe even months. She couldn't be sure. The days all blended into each other as she was left alone day by day, her only interaction with anyone being when she was brought food by the traitor, Kabuto. He would smirk at her and place a tray of food at her feet before turning and leaving, shutting her into the darkness each time he went. She would nibble at the meager excuse for a meal, at first wondering to herself how she could get out, then wondering where exactly she was, then wondering if anyone knew she was missing, if anyone was looking for her. She'd been on a top-secret mission in the Land of Grain, following up on a lead about the whereabouts of the Akatsuki, when she'd been captured by none other than Orochimaru's henchman, Kabuto. She'd been locked in this tiny cell ever since, her left wrist shackled to the wall so she couldn't escape._

_One day Kira was pondering how long she would be trapped there before she found out what she was needed for when she heard an interesting ruckus outside. She could hear shouting and sounds of weapons hitting each other, but she wasn't quite sure what it was. A large amount of chakra surged from down the hall—or what she assumed was a hall—before suddenly disappearing as it got very quiet. Suddenly Kira was afraid. _What if they're coming to kill me? _She nearly panicked, beginning to claw at the shackle on her wrist, when there was an explosion right outside, blowing the door in. She protected herself from the debris and looked up, wondering what the hell had happened, blinking in the sudden bright light._

_Illuminated from behind, like a scene in a movie, was Mizuki, hand on her hip and a look that clearly said "don't fuck with me" on her face. Kira restrained herself from laughing with joy, instead smirking while Mizuki used her chakra to break the shackle off of Kira's wrist and began to heal the raw, painful skin. "Took you long enough to get here." _

_Mizuki raised an eyebrow. "Well had you not been kidnapped this wouldn't have happened."_

"_Yeah, well blame the Hokage."_

_Mizuki was silent for a minute. Kira knew that silence; it meant that Mizuki was hiding something. Before she could ask what, Mizuki pulled her to her feet and said, "We have two minutes to get out of here. Run."_

_The two girls tore out of the cell, Kira following Mizuki, who seemed to know where she was going. They ran through twists and turns, evading enemies and finally managing to reach the exit. Sunlight shone bright, trying desperately to pierce the darkness that filled the lair. Kira had been outside for barely a second, reveling in the fresh air and the sunshine that hurt her eyes, so accustomed to darkness as she was, when Sasuke appeared in front of them. Kira, now adjusted to the light, immediately moved into a fighting stance._

"_Relax, Kira." Mizuki said. "It's okay." _

"_What do you mean, 'it's okay'? This is the bastard that abandoned the village to join _that_ creep!" Kira exclaimed, standing up straight and pointing back at the lair._

_Sasuke ignored the redhead, instead turning to Mizuki and saying, "You should have enough time to get far enough away that they can't catch you if you go now. I'll buy you as much extra time as I can."_

_Kira's eyes nearly flew out of her head as she screeched, "He _helped_ us?"_

_Mizuki nodded, whether to Kira or Sasuke Kira couldn't be sure. To the Uchiha, she said, "Thanks. You're sure they won't know it was you?"_

_Sasuke shrugged. "Even if they do, they won't do anything. Orochimaru wants me too badly to let them harm me." Then, as if the idea of Sasuke Uchiha, traitor to the village, aiding Mizuki in breaking Kira out wasn't enough to process, Mizuki actually HUGGED the bastard. Kira's mouth fell open as her already-wide eyes took in the scene before her._

"_Go." Sasuke said, stepping away. "Be safe."_

"_You too." Mizuki replied before turning to Kira. "Let's go. If they catch us, they'll kill us."_

_Breaking out of her shocked stupor, Kira took off after Mizuki, briefly looking back to see Sasuke retreating into the liar. The two girls continued to run through the land until, several hours later and when they were sure they were safe, they stopped to rest in a small but busy inn. As Kira flopped down on the fluffy bed, she turned to look at Mizuki. Her friend was standing at the foot of her own bed, playing with her fingers, lost in thought. "Mizuki." Kira said, causing the girl to train her eyes on her, thought process broken. "What the hell just happened?"_

_Mizuki sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Prepare yourself, because what I'm about to say is going to really piss you off."_

_And so Mizuki began her sickening tale of Konoha's ploy, using the two of them as pawns. The tip hadn't been about the whereabouts of the Akatsuki, but Orochimaru. The council had decided to send Kira for a number of reasons: she was chunin, and therefore didn't have a team; she had come to Konoha from Amegakure, a known area under watch for Akatsuki activity; and Orochimaru would certainly want her because of her ability to manipulate people's thoughts and memories. They'd allowed her to be held captive until right before her friends would begin to question when she'd return, and then they'd called Mizuki into the Hokage's office. She'd been told that Kira had been captured by Orochimaru and that she was the only one capable of retrieving her. But Mizuki, having been raised to navigate choppy political waters until her clan was wiped out, saw through the story, and fearlessly called the Hokage on it. Lord Third wasn't angry, but instead was rather impressed at the Yukito girl. He told her bits and pieces more before sending her off, and from that Mizuki gathered what was really going on: Kira had been sent to the Land of Grain in order to be captured so that Konoha would know where Orochimaru was hiding out, and Mizuki was being sent after her because Orochimaru may very well want to get his hands on the genjutsu ability she possessed. Neither of them were expected to survive the mission. In fact, the council knew that it would be almost impossible for Mizuki to infiltrate Orochimaru's base, retrieve Kira, and make it out of there alive. _

"_They wanted us to die?" Kira asked in disbelief._

_Mizuki nodded, the bitterness in her voice evident when she next spoke. "They sent us there to eradicate our bloodlines. If we were to turn on Konoha for whatever reason we would be huge threats. It's all politics. Since we weren't born in the village, or even the land of fire, and since we have no roots to the place that would be too hard for us to turn against, they decided to kill us off before we could rejoin our old homes, or join another of the Nations."_

"_They think we're disloyal to Konoha? After everything we've done for the place? After we've put our lives on the line to protect it?" _

"_Politics isn't personal, Kira. As much as it angers me, they think they're doing what's best for the village. And they're partly right; could you imagine how disastrous it would be if you were to join, say, the Sand against Konoha? You could manipulate the council, even the Hokage, and keep them from ordering for defensive measures to be taken while Suna invaded. Or if I decided to go to my old village and they wanted to overtake Konoha, if I had enough chakra stored up I could cast a genjutsu net large enough to trap the whole village. No matter how loyal we are, we are threats. The council will always see us as threats."_

_Kira balled up her fists. "Well they're going to get a nasty surprise when we waltz back into the village, aren't they?" _

_Mizuki's eyes were clear as she quelled Kira's rage with her level-headedness. "They didn't plan on me having someone on the inside, Sasuke, to help us. And before you ask, he owed me a favor." She said, interrupting Kira's unasked question. Kira knew better than to ask what that favor had been._

"_So what are we going to do?" Kira asked, still furious but calmer than she'd been a moment before._

_Somewhere inside of Mizuki, a fire was lit that reflected in her eyes. A fire of defiance at the council's desire for her death, fury at the thought of possibly being a traitor, determination to prove them wrong, and desire for some form of revenge for the paranoid, untrustworthy backstabbers that pressured the Hokage into getting what they wanted. "We're going to walk back into the village with our heads held high," she said, a hint of a smile on her lips, "and tell them that you had nearly escaped by the time I got there. We will never mention Sasuke, or how you really got out. We will never tell anyone the truth, we will take it to our graves. We will pretend that we have no idea how dangerous they find us, go about our lives and fulfill our duties and missions as if nothing ever happened. And one day, when there's a Hokage that could really change things, then we will take down the council. Because if there is one thing that I'm not, it's a traitor to the village that took me in and gave me a place to love, fight to protect, and call home."_

_Kira nodded slowly, agreeing with every word. She may have been sent to Konoha by Konan, but she was no more Akatsuki than Sakura Haruno was. She was a kunoichi from the Hidden Leaf, and she would prove to everyone that she was loyal to the village, that she belonged there, or she'd die trying._

Back in her apartment and out of her own head, Kira smirked at the memory of the look on the Hokage's face when they'd waltzed into his office, ready to report completion of the mission. He'd been startled—shocked was the more accurate word, really—but his shock had quickly morphed into his usual composed expression. In his eyes, though, Kira could see a glimmer of satisfaction, and of hope. She didn't need to know the Hokage to know that he was more than happy that the council had failed in their attempt to murder two of Konoha's best kunoichi because of politics, and that their defiance of the council's crap gave him hope for the future of Konoha.

Kira had relaxed completely. _There's no way Gaara knows any of that_, she decided. _So I guess I'll just have to wait and see what it is that he wants with me._


End file.
